Route 217
by cacneas
Summary: It's the day before Christmas Eve and Ash and Paul's tradition is to hike up Mt. Coronet to meet with friends at Snowpoint City. However, something goes wrong when Paul is abducted by a mysterious force. This is Part I of II. Comashipping.


"Hurry up!" demanded Paul looking towards the top of the staircase. He was quickly growing impatient. "He always does this" he continued to murmur underneath his breath. It was the day before Christmas Eve and Paul wanted to get ahead start on their traveling. Every year, he and Ash had made it a tradition to haul up Mt. Coronet towards Snowpoint City to visit all of Ash's friends. This year was no different… Ash was late, the snow leading up to the city was expected to be heavier than usual, and Paul was getting more annoyed by the second. However, he always did enjoy this special moment he got to share with Ash. Everyone always thought they were crazy for wanting to hike up the mountain by themselves instead of taking a blimp to the city. It was their special tradition and reaching the city was always a good feeling of success. Thinking of this allowed a small sliver of patience to grow inside of Paul for a split second.

Nevertheless, this ounce of patience did not last long. Just as Paul was about to open his mouth to shout once more—

"IIIIII'M HERE!" roared Ash as he appeared at the top of the stairs. As he took his first step, he suddenly realized he missed the first step, sending him into a clumsy tripping frenzy, which ultimately resulted in him catching himself. Just as he looked up with a sighing grin, he noticed Pikachu, who was on his shoulders, was now flying directly towards Paul down the stairs. Paul was obviously prepared as always - reaching his arms out, Pikachu landed gracefully into his arms.

"Seriously?" remarked Paul.

"I'm sorrrry!" concluded Ash. "You know I get overly excited. And as for being late, which I know you're about to remark about… I couldn't choose what Pokémon I wanted to bring! Especially to show Dawn, Candice, and Zoey."

"It's fine. I just want to get a move on. We're already seven minutes late." Paul picked up his camping bag and threw it over his right shoulder. Pikachu scooted over to his other shoulder, making himself comfortable.

"Woah! Seven minutes late… we're definitely going to be late now! The entire universe is going to shifted!" said Ash as he let out a small giggle now heading down the stairs. "Ahhh! I can't wait to get to Snowpoint City tomorrow for Christmas Eve. Everyone will be there; it seems like forever since we've seen them!" Ash was following Paul out towards the door.

"Yeah, yeah. I know you're excited. Did you lock the backdoor?"

"Yep. I made sure to do it."

"And you packed extra underwear?" Paul smirked.

"Um, yes!" a hint of red grew on Ash's cheeks. "You're starting to sound like my mom now, Paul…" Ash shut the door behind them. The two started walking down the streets of Veilstone City.

"I'm just saying. Last Christmas you only brought two pairs and asked me if you could borrow some. You know how I feel about germs."

"Okay, yeah that happened. But you had like 16 free pairs! You weren't even going to use them all."

"You never know."

"But, I do know. I know you so well! Something I never thought would happen, to be honest." Ash let out another small giggle, he looked upwards while walking.

"And what do you mean by that?" Pikachu was still resting on Paul's shoulder.

"Oh, you know. When we first met a looooong time ago. When we were kids and I was traveling through this region with Dawn and Brock. You were so mean to me back then."

"True. I was…"

"I love how you just agree." Said Ash, now with a giant smile on his face. Mt. Coronet was now staring at them. They knew they had to walk rather quickly if they wanted to make it to Route 216 and 217 by nightfall. This was one of Paul's favorite activities. Just walking side by side with Ash through the Sinnoh region. He wasn't looking forward too much to seeing all of Ash's pals, but he was willing to deal with them for this trip.

As the morning continued, Ash, Paul, and Pikachu all headed towards Route 215. Celestic Town was next, shortly stopping for lunch and rest. Sinnoh's myths and legends were always interesting to hear and see during this pit stop. Ash was always interested, but Paul was more amazed. The more he got older, the better he appreciated his home region's culture. Before long, they were already peering outside Mt. Coronet and onto the snowy lands of Route 216. This was Paul's favorite part of the trip.

"I'm not really used to all this snow." Commented Ash as he hauled his way through the frozen landscape. "If this ever happened in Pallet Town, the entire town would be in turmoil. Kind of like that time when I met Lugia…"

"Yeah, the Kanto Region barely has any snow. It's such a foreign concept to me. I've practically grown up in the snow."

"And, that's why I love you! We're so uniquely different!" grinned Ash. The snow was falling pretty heavily now. Paul's cheeks became a warm blushed red and even though it was freezing, Paul felt right at home. "Hey, look! You're smiling now, too!"

"I have to admit. You do make me happy."

"No, I make you very happy!"

"Don't push it now…"

"Oh, come on it is Christmas! And aren't you excited to see the gang?" Ash was bouncing now more than ever with glee. His hyper attitude was showing and even though Paul loved him, sometimes Paul's mood would instantly change.

"They're not my gang, they're your gang."

"Yeah, true. But ever since we started dating, they have become your gang!"

"Hardly." Jeered Paul.

"Hey now. We've been through this before. I really want you to start opening up to others; it's really awkward when you're the only one sitting in the corner not talking to a group of people in a giant room."

"Oh be quiet. It's who I am, you know that."

"Yeah, I do know that. But, I also know that you truly like making connections with others, too."

"Connections? Is that what you call them? Look - I like being with you because you're different from all of them. You radiate a certain kind of energy that brings out the best in me and it's always make me excited."

"And others can't do that for you?" stated Ash, Pikachu was now on his shoulder, sensing Paul growing unsettled.

"No. They usually can't. Not especially your idiotic friends." Ash paused in his tracks. The entire route just seemed like it grew colder than ever. Ash was looking down at the ground, with Pikachu titling his head down towards him.

"Idiotic?"

"Yes. You heard me." Paul wasn't even looking back at Ash.

"I don't want to talk to you until we make it to Snowpoint, Paul." Ash slowly started walking again, now passing Paul.

"What? Fine! Then, I don't want to talk to you." Paul reached for his belt buckle and ripped off a Pokéball. "Ursaring go!" Ursaring popped out of its ball, roaring slightly before realizing the tension was high. Paul immediately hopped on the back of Ursaring and allowed him to face the other way. "Ursaring, let's head north." Before Ash could even react, Ursaring was racing towards the horizon. It was around 4 o'clock, and Ash couldn't believe that Paul had just left him, stranded by himself on top of the snowy Mt. Coronet.

"Come on, Pikachu. Let's keep going."

An hour passed and Paul was growing weak. He felt a small pit in his stomach. Was it from hunger or possibly the argument he recently shared with Ash? He was going to try the hunger first.

"Alright, Ursaring… let's stop here." He was now far along Route 217, growing closer to Lake Acuity. Paul realized this was usually the spot and time when he and Ash would take their second break and have a snack. Daylight was also growing thinner. Paul searched through his camping bag and found a small granola bar; it was then he realized he wasn't really hungry and that the probable cause to him growing weak was his fight with Ash. Paul let out a deep sigh and looked towards the snowy mountain. He was beginning to search through his bag again for bottled water when suddenly he heard a rustle in a nearby tree. Paul shifted his focus directly onto the tree in an instance. The noise startled him. He quickly glanced back over to Ursaring and nodded. Ursaring knew to stand guard as Paul stood his ground.

"Ouuuu…" cried a quiet, faint voice from atop the tree. Paul was weary but decided to head over to the tree. It was a secret kind instinct of Paul, or maybe a curiosity to find out what it was that led him over there. As he approached the tree, he gave one more glance over to Ursaring and nodded. Before Paul could turn back around, the cry of a loud living being sang-

"OOOUUUUUUU….!" Paul was swept instantaneously off of his feet with nowhere else to be found. Ursaring, who was already on two feet, sprung into action and leaped to the spot where Paul vanished. Ursaring looked to its left and right, and quickly realized he wasn't picking up Paul's scent, either. In a panic, Ursaring realized that Ash was still a few miles behind and knew it was his only choice to find Ash. Ursaring began sprinting through the thick snow to find Ash, hoping Paul wasn't already too far away.


End file.
